# Fake Cohiba Esplenditos!! Yay!



## HWiebe (Jul 13, 2010)

My bro-in-law bought "some Cubans" from a co-worker who had vacationed in Cuba. He asked me if $40 was a good deal for 13 Cohibas. I said if they are real then yes. If they are fake then don't bother. He bought and gifted them to me today. As soon as I saw the box I knew they were fake.




























The cover sheet didn't even fit in the box.









Terrible craftsmanship on the box itself.










Gold flaking off non-embossed logo










Each cigar looked very poorly rolled and the bands were very cheap reproductions.

Note the number of rows of white boxes above the cohiba logo. They vary from 1 to one and two halves.



















Water damaged box and cigar. (may have happened after purchase lol)










Notice the difference in length between a real Esplendito and the fake. The real one didn't fit in this box.(FAKE LEFT - REAL RIGHT)










(FAKE LEFT - REAL RIGHT)

WTF is in these things?










(FAKE LEFT - REAL RIGHT)










(FAKE LEFT - REAL RIGHT)


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## Bunner (Apr 5, 2011)

Ha ha ha sad but it reminds of my friends ex.... She tried to pass fakes off as real and I said uhhh sorry no.
very nice comparison.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

Very good pictures for comparison.


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## android (Feb 27, 2012)

boy, those are some really bad fakes.... thanks for sharing the pictures Hekthor.


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## birdiemc (Feb 4, 2012)

is that a hair coming out of the foot??? your pics should be a sticky for all who don't have the real thing to compare to!


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Looks legit:sorry::sorry:


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## gasdocok (May 14, 2011)

and I was getting used to seeing such beautiful things in picture from Hekthor...

Those are some terrible looking fakes, but I guess if you didn't know any better those could fool ya.

Thank god for puff.com and the knowledgeable brothers who taught me right from wrong (and real from fake)


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## HWiebe (Jul 13, 2010)

I am not even humidifying these things. I should hold a contest of what do with them. lol


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## exprime8 (May 16, 2011)

REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! How bad can they be?!?!?!?!?


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## HWiebe (Jul 13, 2010)

I don't feel up to smoking horse shit and banana leaves! u


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

You get what you pay for.


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## sligub (Apr 6, 2011)

Slice one of those bad boys open, u might find a newspaper in their that will tell you when they were rolled.


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## fiddlegrin (Feb 8, 2009)

Virtual :bump2:

Thanks for the well done comparison :wave:


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## Reino (Sep 13, 2010)

I think one should be sacrificed to the knife.

+1 on the pics and explanation.


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## imported_Mike_E (Nov 20, 2011)

Put one under the knife. It'd be interesting to see how long that string is. I say we take bets and have a contest on what you find. Winner is gifted a fake Cohiba and has to smoke it and provide a review.


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## Dr. Nick (Jan 12, 2010)

Wow those are some terrible fakes! I wouldn't risk my health smoking those after seeing the pics of the foot, lol. 

On a side note, my brother is on his honeymoon in Mexico right now on and there's a cigar shop at the resort he's staying at. He said they have Esplendido's for $9 each. I told him not to waste his money.


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## David_ESM (May 11, 2011)

Well, at least it was only $40


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## HWiebe (Jul 13, 2010)

I bombed these to KoachKuKu. Lol. He made the mistake of mentioning that he liked a fauxhiba he was smoking on Vherf.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

My cousin franks best friend Ron just came back from Mexico with 5 in a glass top box!


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

My first venture into the Cuban section and I'm greeted with this. How funny!

A pal of mine went to Cuba about ten years ago (we're in England) in a group and asked if I wanted a box brought back. Clearly, I said "Yes", but primed him that he would inevitably be given a story that his landlady "had a son who worked in the XXX factory and could steal cigars and would he like some - real cheap". I told him to buy from official outlets only and make sure he had the right documents for export/import. 

He brought me back a box (forget what) of the good stuff. He said that he had another box for me bought by one of his colleagues. Imagine my surprise when he said that the chap told him that his landlady "had a son who worked in the El Laguito factory and could steal cigars and would he like some - real cheap". Like these, Esplendidos and really, really badly made. Like you, I could tell from across the room that they were poor fakes just from the box. The contents were worse. The ones in this thread at least have bands that look like they were cut using some appropriate method. The bands on "mine" were ragged and looked like they were cut with little nail scissors. They probably were.

I lit one for "fun". A couple drags were more than enough. Also cut one open. No idea what they were made of. Not tobacco, I'm sure.

I also see the famous "Glass Topped Humidor" making an appearance. Will people never learn...


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## nikesupremedunk (Jun 29, 2012)

+1 split one open! and split open the real one to compare :crazy:


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## Damselnotindistress (Aug 7, 2011)

Well, confession time eep: Through the years of my "habana" cigar purchases I've gotten what had turned out to be fakes. Some I could tell was plain "other country" tobaccos; and some were pretty darn good. Yes, go ahead and split three open. Depending on what you find you could give at least one a few puffs just to see how it does. It'll either be a La Unica with a Cuban band on it...or a Ron Mexico, Dark Shark or Raji's Untimely Demise! :spit:


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## cartey (Jul 28, 2011)

I really want to see a dissection view... :bolt:


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## mata777 (Jul 11, 2011)

Post an autopsy pictorial on here. These vitolas are probably some of the most counterfeited in the cc world.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Shortcut-Cigars > About Cigars > Counterfeit Cigars


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## Damselnotindistress (Aug 7, 2011)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Shortcut-Cigars > About Cigars > Counterfeit Cigars


Hey, that's a pretty interesting site, Tony. Thanks!


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## tpharkman (Feb 20, 2010)

A friend of mine who I met while pheasant hunting in Kansas had a box of these bad boys. I would bring him some real ccs for the chance to go find some birds and on one adventure he handed me one of these bad boys. I dissected after we left town and it was just loose and very dark brown scraps of crap. I almost threw up in my mouth and had to get the antibacterial soap out to wipe the filth off my hands.

I would strongly suggest you don't smoke these.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Damselnotindistress said:


> Hey, that's a pretty interesting site, Tony. Thanks!


:rockon::rockon::rockon:


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## primetime76 (Feb 8, 2011)

exprime8 said:


> REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! How bad can they be?!?!?!?!?


I would smoke one myself....why not? They are more than likely real Cuban tobacco, just not Cohiba tobaco. I had fake cubans in Jamaica and Aruba, and they weren't terrible.


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

primetime76 said:


> I would smoke one myself....why not? They are more than likely real Cuban tobacco, just not Cohiba tobaco. I had fake cubans in Jamaica and Aruba, and they weren't terrible.


I wouldn't. The ones I cut open were filled with unidentifiable crap and not tobacco as we know it. I did light one and the smell was of burning compost. They might just be inferior Cuban cigars, but the likelihood is that the ones under discussion are just the same type of completely valueless rubbish. I've seen loads of "reviews" of fakes over the years and the guiding principle seems to be that the more expensive the faked cigar, the less likely it is to "just" be a decent but "wrong" cigar with a fake band. If they were sourced in Cuba, you also need to ask where the Dominican and other foreign cigars that are allegedly re-banded to up the price come from? Not a huge amount of importing of these into Cuba I would hazard. If from elsewhere, the forgers are still unlikely to care about the quality of what they are passing off. They aren't interested in repeat business.


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